Park City Press Camp - Hanging Out and Riding Bikes in Paradise

Pinkbike was invited to Press Camp in Park City, Utah, to visit one-on-one with bike and parts makers in an environment much better suited to evaluate and appreciate cycling products than a sin pit like Vegas, Nevada. The vibe is chill, and the riding? IMBA gave Park City its first Gold-Standard award as a mountain bike riding destination. There is something for everyone here. The fact that I am writing this at all is a supreme sacrifice, as the lifts are running, the weather is perfect, and my wrist-band is mocking me for being so foolish.GT Highlights

GT had its carbon fiber Fury Team on display. The Athertons and Beaumont have had more than a little influence on the Fury, as it is spec'ed beautifully and looks outstanding. The Team version is pegged at $5999 USD, which is a good value, all things considered. Couldn't talk them into letting me break it in - YET. I'm working on it.

GT Fury Team at Park City, Utah.

Because we know that DH bikes are important, we included the components specs for the Fury Team.

The 2013 Fury Team is truly a plug-and-play DH racer with a well-selected component ensemble that features out-of-the-corporate-box items like its e*thirteen crankset and Formula RO brakes. The Fury Team costs 2000 dollars less than GT's top-drawer 'World Cup' model that shares the same frame.

On the opposite side of the riding spectrum, GT revitalized its Zaskar XC platform with a stunning-looking 4-inch-travel carbon 29er chassis. The $4999 USD Zaskar 100 Pro 9R appears to be a worthy trailbike for those who put in the miles and want to do it on big wheels.

Pivot Cycles was supplying Reynolds with demo bikes and I jumped on the chance to ride one. The Mach 5.7, equipped with a Shimano XTR/XT drivetrain, was a sweet ride at Park City's trails. It pedals efficiently, climbs like a goat and feels smooth over the area's signature rocky, high-speed trails. The Mach 5.7 is one of my favorite trailbikes, so it was a perfect choice to warm up to the features on the mountain.Pivot Cycles

Park City's trails can be lush and flowy, but temperatures can get high on the exposed sections. RC takes the Pivot Mach 5.7 through the Aspens for an early morning climb to mid-mountain.

The Pivot Mach 5.7 Carbon overlooking the resort where Press Camp was hosted.

Pivot was on hand to provide an opportunity to ride Reynolds' new AM-Carbon wheelset, which should be a winner among the Enduro crowd. The wheels climb and accelerate with an energetic feel and, while they feel rigid under the bike in lateral sense when bashing berms and picking through rocks, there is no excessive harshness transmitted though the wheels..More about the Reynolds below.

My first look at the Reynolds AM Carbon wheels was after I had been riding them for about an hour and happened to notice them on the Mach 5.7. The 21-millimeter inner diameter gave the 2.35-inch Nevegal tread a secure stance on the loose-over-hard-pack soil that permeates the trail network during the hot Summer months.

Reynolds AM Carbon Wheels

And, here they are: Reynolds pegs the weight of its AM Carbon wheelset at 1590 grams a pair. The hubs can be quick changed to fit all popular axle styles. MSRP for the wheelset comes in around $1800 USD and it includes quick releases; sealing tape and tubeless valve stems; as well as axle ends to convert the wheels to QR/135mm or 142/12mm through-axle in the rear; and QR,15mm or 20mm through axles up front.

Reynolds designed a six-pawl freehub body to keep the drive feeling snappy and the hub itself is also unique to Reynolds with its straight-pull flange design and quick-change threaded axle caps (the front caps just push on). The rim is designed to be tubeless ready - meaning that it requires sealing tape to make it air tight. The tape and valve stems are included.

(clockwise) Reynolds designed the red-anodized hubs. Interchangeable end-caps quickly convert the rear from QR to 12mm through axle. Reynolds designed the hub flanges for straight-pull spokes to increase tension and durability. Twenty eight spokes, laced three-cross are DT Swiss Revolution double butted stainless steel. A look at the end-caps and tubeless conversion kit that accompanies each wheelset. The AM Carbon rim (top) is visibly different than Reynolds' 650B rim (middle) and its 29er rim below. The bead design is molded specifically for tubeless compatibility.

Reynolds buys carbon material from a top Japanese maker and then impregnates the resin in its US factory to ensure that it has control over its manufacturing processes. The carbon is then shipped frozen to Reynolds' manufacturing facility in Asia where the rims are molded and each wheel is hand made. No less than five types of carbon fabric are used in the lay-up process - a feature that Reynolds calls 'MR5.' Reynolds puts the weight of its AM Carbon rim at 450 grams. Well, that's all for today. Gotta get some more riding in. More pics and stories to come. -RC

^ It's called aerodynamics... either that or they thought it looked really good, which it is. Plus carbon fiber is still very light so I'm guessing that "thickness" doesn't make a noticeable difference, being a DH rig and all.

I have been riding aluminum Sun Ringle Charger Pro wheels for two years without any problems (i.e. truing). They weigh 100 grams more but cost $1250 less. Hmm $1250 for 100 grams?? I could almost buy a brand new carbon frame for that. Think I'll stick to my Charger Pros.

just get yourself some Chinese carbon wheels. Those Reynolds are straight from China with their stickers on them. You can get a complete set of carbon wheels fro like 500 USD. Virtually all carbon wheels come from China except for the Enve's. www.alibaba.com/showroom/cheap-chinese-carbon-wheels.html

That may be the single dumbest bit of advice that I have heard about bike parts in a long time (chinese carbon wheels). Reynolds are not straight from China as the article clearly states. This is the thinking that got us Americans in the shit that we're in now.

Aaronbullit: Reynolds are made in West Jordan, UT. They treat the aspiring racer crowd very well. They have awesome customer support. They make killer product (not sure about the proprietary hub) and they employ riders. Know what variety of crap you are chewing on before you spit it out.

I have a pair of Reynolds carbon wheels and they are a vast improvement over my Easton havocs. Not only do they not have all of the problems of the Easton haven carbon hubs, but I picked them up brand new for $650US. They are quicker, stronger, and stiffer than any aluminum rims I have tried at pretty much the same price as higher end aluminum wheels. Better than the Stan's flow/King setup for aggressive AM riding for sure.

Only in the USA is "made in the US" considered a good thing. The American economy tanked because of two main problems. People were allowed to borrow more money than the could afford to pay back, and secondly the US auto industry continued pushing antquated technology and lobbied to disprove the climate change science rather than developing more effiecient products like the rest of the world. I haven't bought an american vehicle in 20 years, excepting an old farm truck to take shit to the dump.

I have two sets of carbon rims made in China. I have used one of the sets in Whistler and they have never had to be trued. These wheels are over three years old, maybe four and still perfect. They are only 18mm internal width though, so 2.25 is as big as I mount on them.

@willie1: that is a VAST oversimplification of our current economic situation. I'm not trying to sound critical of you. You're right factually, but there were hardly two single points that lead to this crash. If anything you could say that it was something that, had the powers that be had ANY concern for the COUNTRY'S ECONOMIC STATUS (let's face it, people only care about their own bank accounts) , could have been predicted a LONG time ago. Our Economic policies have been leading us down this path for years. SO, yes, you're correct that those are major factors, but in reality it's more a "class warfare" thing going on here (and really the world over) with the hyper rich not wanting to pay their share into taxes and corporate greed and poor structure/practices leading to unstable markets. When the average citizen pays 55+% of their total income in taxes and the ultra-rich pay anywhere from 0-15% things are totally f*cked and it's not on accident. You get the middle class to fight amongst themselves over non-economic issues (gay marriage, abortion, gun control) and then you legislate poor economic policies (bail-outs, deregulation of energy, Tax breaks, campaign finance etc.) behind closed doors ship jobs overseas and lower your product quality and what do you think is gonna happen??? We are moving back towards a "Surfs and Lords" type of social structure and certain people WANT that. Me... I'm collecting bullets and gold... when the world implodes those things will be the new currency.

Most important thing about that Fury is the geometry has not changed from previous models. I.e. It's the same geometry that necessitated Gee to run offset bushes with the maximum available offset, a shortened shock body, maximum offset Angleset and the forks slammed in the crowns.

I'm not a huge fan of the paintjob, but I always thought the "old" fury looked stunning in blue or yellow!But it's true that they should probably do something about the geometry!I don't think I'ld need a geometry as slack as Gee's, tough! So I wouldn't give too much about that...

I have never ridden the GT but they do have a few of the carbon teams in the rental fleet at our local mountain and they are pretty impressive in person. It def. looks different than most bikes but it is pretty cool looking.

The Fury is like 5 years old now
So yea, geo needs updating but that's not possible with molded carbon fiber. I'm sure they are working on it though. Damn impressive really- GT was the first to make a carbon DH bike back when Peaty rode for them and the first new school DH bike too. I believe pink bike broke the story on GT Fury with Bryn

So 6000 dollars for the fury and u they still put the zee shifter derr. On? I have nothing against it but if I'm going to pay 6000 for a bike I'm kinda expecting saint shifter derr and an Rc4 not an Rc2.....if I'm wrong feel free to correct me but that's the way I'm looking at it right now

Yeah that bit was slightly confusing to me too... Personaly If I were in the market for a new full-on race bike I'd be looking at Norco...and GT wouldn't even be on the list. Not that Gee has anything to be sad about, but I would have been sad to walk away from Commencal... that V3 is just a beautiful bike and so much less "transformers-chique" looking IMO.

I would never buy another set of Reynolds wheels. After sales service was non-existent. If you buy these wheels and something goes wrong, I hope your experience is better than mine. In fact, just one returned email or phone call would be a better experience than mine.

On the Fury, E-13 LS1+ for 36-40T rings associated with a 36T chainring... Why didn't they just put the 32-36 chainguide, for more ground clearance? It's probably the same price as a 36-40t, yet better.

I know it probably just their floating bb design, but doesn't the center of gravity on the Fury look super high? Every other DH bike designer is trying to put the mass as low as possible. GT looks to have taken the opposite approach. But, I haven't ridden it so I can't say for sure.

@Bigfoot94, the whole look? Im just not a fan of the finish and overall look of the carbon one, the alloy one looks both cleaner and slicker to me. Dont see any real need for the neg props though, the carbon one is obviously the better bike in terms of weight, rididity and manouverability im just not that keen on the way it looks thats all!

Yea, PC riding certainly isn't unique and there's LOADS of hikers/walkers/dog-walkers. Sure there's lots of it (some claim around 400miles of trail in the greater PC area...), but quality over quantity IMHO.

And a 6000 blingy carbon DH frame with ok components fits PC perfectly.That's certainly the mindset there in the winter, try to LOOK the part... Lived there for 6 months, and will likely never go back. Now big and little cottonwood canyons w/snowbird, alta, brighton, and solitude - amazing places.

Oh, and referring to Vegas as a sin pit compared to Park City? Please, Park City's been called Sin City since mining began there, and many of main street's 2nd floors were at one time "less than reputable establishments". ok, PC rant over. ride bikes

hamncheez, I've been living and riding here for the past 5 years... you should go ride other places before you defend PC, haha. But don't think I'm completely hating on PC because it's still better than a lot of other places. For instance, where else can you do bus laps for free?